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Seeking a Good eBook Reading Device?

Posted by Cliff on from the digital-paper dept.

Quimbly asks: "I'm an avid reader, and I find that downloading books is much more convenient that trying to get them from the bookstore or library. However, I'm tired of sitting in front of a monitor to do my reading. I'm looking for a hand-held device to do my reading on, and I'm hoping the community has some suggestions. It seems to me that most PDAs have too small of a screen for convenient reading, and a notebook / tablet computer is too big and bulky for this simple task. So, I've been looking at a few devices designed specifically for eBook reading (e.g. the RCA REB1100, the eBookwise-1150, etc.). These look more promising, but I was disappointed to discover that the RCA device ONLY reads an encrypted, propriety eBook format, making it essentially useless. (Has anyone ever hacked one of these?) Similarly, I believe both of these devices have been discontinued by their manufacturers. I want a device that can read a variety of file formats, especially scanned, non-text PDFs. A large screen, long battery life, and good interface are other attributes I'm looking for."

7 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. PSP? by AtariAmarok · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seeing all the PSP hype, with the screen that even looks great when someone holds it up to a camera on TV, I wonder if that will make a fantastic ebook reader.

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    1. Re:PSP? by Noco · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Wrong orientation? Have you noticed how new HDTVs are widescreen and movie theatres are as well? Additionally, for all but East Asia, written communication is mostly horizontal. Because of the nature of our eyes, our horizontal view is wider than our vertical. Thus, it is easier to read when the width is longer than the height. Thus, the PSP seems ideal. I use a Palm T3 for reading, horizontally of course, with the virtual graffiti area removed. Previously, I used an NR70V from Sony in a similar fashion. Try reading something both ways.....6 words across by 10 lines down or 11 words across by 5 lines down, and see which u prefer.

    2. Re:PSP? by macshit · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sure, wide-screen is great for movies and tv, but the whole point was that what's good for movies/games/tv isn't what's good for books.

      If you're willing to scroll around on the page, then it doesn't matter so much -- but frankly, for reading, scrolling a window around on the page really sucks. That's why you want a high-res but low color (to make the cost palatable) display, with a form factor that approximates a normal book page. I think the real problem with the PSP's screen (besides the resolution being too low), is actually that it's so long-and-skinny, which means you either have very long lines (hard to read) with lots of vertical scrolling (yuck), or very short lines (easier to read, but past a certain point become ridiculous).

      I've no doubt that some people will use the PSP for e-books, but it's definitely a case of "I've got a PSP, why not use it for ...", rather than the PSP being especially well-suited to the task.

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  2. e-ink! by n0d3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think you are looking for something that uses e-ink. The only one that currently is out on the market is sony's E-book

    I know Philips (One of the main minds behind it) isn't ready to mass produce because they want to increase the switching speed (from black to white and inbetween) aswell as adding color.
    However I've seen them work, at let me tell you, it's sweet technology. It reads very comfterably.

  3. Reexamine notebooks and tablet PCs. by Short+Circuit · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They come in all shapes and sizes. Heck...there are some notebooks out there that are too small.

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  4. Cheap Solution by carrowood · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I spent the last year trying to find the right ebook reader for me;

    My requirements:
    - cheap
    - mulitple formats: txt, pdf, doc, isilo, mobi, etc;
    - color screen bigger than most palms, smaller than laptop

    My Solution:
    - used NEC MobilePro 780 off ebay running WinCE: about $99 from a reputable seller;

    So far I am happy; Using serial instead of USB kinda sucks, but for the price, I am pleased. I am about to get a wireless card for it and connect it to my home network.

    Worked out great for me but do you own homework first ;-)

  5. The Everlasting Newton by IpseDixit12 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Newton's large screen makes it wonderful for reading text, even though it is in green.